“So, we don’t even know if our intel is right?” Mave growled, running a hand through her hair. “Really?”
“The likelihood is slim she did it to many of our scouts. This might be a one-off case. They caught the scout, then probably realized they could set a trap. Or Shadra realized she could because no one who works for her is that smart.”
“How can they do that?” Mave asked, feeling snappy. No one should have that kind of power.
“You know—blood, power, the right way to manipulate energies. Shadra tried to take your mind once. You know it’s possible,” Luykas reminded her. “I didn’t even know she had sorcerers in her army willing to take the risk required to pull it off.”
“You need to talk to her,” Kian said, grumbling. “Because we don’t know nearly enough, it seems.”
“She was ill all winter,” Luykas snapped. “After putting herself in the position to help more Andinna escape and funnel money away from Shadra. She’s only just now getting back into the loop of Shadra’s plans. I’ll try seeing her later tonight, but it’s always risky, and who knows if she’s learned anything more. I went to see her just a week ago, and she didn’t know about any of this.”
“Or she knew and didn’t say anything,” Kian muttered. “Sorry, that was harsh. She’s proven nothing but trustworthy to Leshaun and you all these years. She helped so many of our people get here. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”
“Yeah, let’s not forget Shadra keeps her plans close to her chest,” Alchan said softly. “During the original war, we knew what the Emperor was doing but had no idea what sort of plans Shadra was making. She plays a very long game with her enemies. I have a feeling she’s thinking a few steps ahead of us now, and that puts us at a disadvantage.”
“Why can’t someone just go to her main camp and assassinate her?” Mave asked, frustrated. “That would end all of our problems.”
“Good luck,” Bryn mumbled darkly. “I couldn’t do it. She has around the clock guards, a unit of sorcerers, and her own magics. The best way to get at Shadra is through a large-scale assault on the camp and punching a hole through her defenses. Sneakin’ into her bedroom and stabbin’ her while she sleeps is downright impossible.”
“And it wouldn’t solve our problem,” Luykas pointed out. “Nyria wouldn’t have the political support to take the throne, and she’s not in any position to. She needs to be there when Shadra dies to make sure no generals or lords jump in and take charge, especially a general with Shadra right now. It would be easy for him to take command of the troops, defeat us, and ride back to Elliar with an army at his back to take the throne from Nyria. Elvasi politics are just as important as our own in this situation.”
“The enemy we know is better than the enemy we don’t,” Alchan whispered. “We know Shadra. We know she’s trying to outmaneuver us. We know she has gryphon riders, sorcerers, and way more bodies than we do. We need to change our plans and try to hit different targets, things she won’t expect but will still choke her out of the mountains.”
Mave watched the wheels turn as Luykas and Alchan looked at each other.
“We hit smaller camps to divert her attention. We blow passes she’s been using to move her troops. We stop assaults and cause landslides,” Luykas said with strength. “We’ll need the Hornbuckles to create more blasting agent. That will take some time.”
“And who would be running those sorts of missions?” Mave asked.
“You,” Alchan answered. “And whoever you want to take with you, but we need to set up the plans. Plus, we’re still missing most of our last teams, and I’m still not comfortable sending out everyone at once with the potential outcome being no one coming back.”
“I’ll need time to learn how to do some of those ideas. I’ve never used the blasting agent. I don’t know what sort of treatment is needed to keep it from blowing me up.” She knew the Hornbuckle dwarves were cautious. Over the winter, she heard it boom from their mines as they worked to bring out more steel and other precious metals for the Andinna to use. She never knew them giving any to the Andinna.
“I thought we agreed to do less damage to the mountains this time around,” Kian said softly. “Kelsiana blew up several of the passes during the last war, and it was effective, but it also made travel for our own people hard. Some of the earlier sites we hit were prone to landslides and avalanches for years after that. We lost good people to our own mistakes. She got wary of using it only a couple of decades into the War.”
“It can also hurt game populations, but do you know what hurts game populations more than disasters? Elvasi troops who hunt lands to the point of becoming barren.” Luykas shrugged. “We’re going to start blowing passes. If the Elvasi don’t want to die to the sword, we’ll just bury them alive.”
“My mother always did like you,” Seanev said with a chuckle at Luykas. “I’m with you two on this. I won’t be much help, but…”
“You’re still a great general, even if you can’t follow the warriors into battle,” Alchan snapped. “Do you know how to use the sword with your left hand?”
“My parents raised me to do both,” Seanev confirmed with a wry smile. “I’ll make do with a sword if I need to pick one up. I’ll need to start practicing more. Balance is all thrown off.”
“You can join Alchan and me,” Mave said, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. “We practice at sunset in front of his home.”
“And we’ll find you a place to live in our village permanently,” Alchan added. “Now, let’s start getting these warriors home. I have a lot of other advisors who need to see this and help us devise our plans for autumn and winter.”
Everyone gave their own affirmative. Mave nodded, Luykas just started walking back toward the secondary camp, and Kian grunted. Mave watched Rain take Alchan’s hand, going on his toes to kiss the king’s cheek. Emerian came to Mave’s side and sighed.
“This is worse than everyone thought it would be, isn’t it?” he asked softly.
“Yeah, it is,” she confirmed, reaching out to pat his shoulder as she turned to Bryn, who was silent. “What are you thinking about? Your scouts?”
“Aye, and…Mat is still out there. Zayden is still out there,” he whispered, stepping closer to her. “And if I can’t trust mah scouts to find ‘em…I’m the only one who might be able to.”
“I would be okay with it, but you’ll have to clear it with Alchan. I wouldn’t mind if you go out there and bring them home for us. I’ll stay here until you get back. I promise.”
“I’ll ask him about it on the way back to the village,” Bryn decided. “Let’s go help these warriors get home.”
Mave nodded.
It took the entire day. Packing the warriors back up, helping them get moving, and the long walk home was exhausting. Mave didn’t sleep the entire night. No one did. As they entered the village, many came up to them, trying to help. The bad news had been spread ahead of them, so the warriors coming home would have help. The shock had worn off as well. Everyone was grim as they helped people get back to their friends and family if they had any. Those who had lost their husbands, brothers, fathers, and sons were consoled.
Mave was dead on her feet as she made her way back to the war room. Luykas and Bryn were still by her side, and Emerian ran ahead of her to get three seats ready for them. Mave didn’t know how the male was still moving, but he had persisted all night and day like the rest of them and was still kicking.
Rain and Alchan were in next, dark circles under their eyes. Alchan found a chair, fell into it, pulled Rain onto his lap and held his consort tightly, burying his head in Rain’s hair.
Then the others came in—the unit commanders, Kenav, other advisors, like some of the nobles Alchan had recognized who had money and experience that proved useful to the king.
“We heard the news,” Kenav said stiffly as he looked over everyone. “Do we have a plan of attack?”
“I would like to say we have something concrete right now, but not
yet,” Alchan said as Rain left his lap again, so Alchan could see the room.
“We need—”
“Things have been talked about, but everyone here needs sleep,” Mave snapped.
“We need to retaliate,” Kenav growled.
“We need to figure out how bad the damage is,” Luykas countered. “We’ve lost hundreds of warriors. We’re missing others on different missions, who are late getting back to us. A few scouts haven’t reported in weeks—”
“Months,” Bryn corrected. “And don’t count on them coming back at this point.”
“Thank you,” Luykas said softly to their rogue husband, who was running on even less sleep. When he turned back on Kenav, his gold eyes narrowed. “We’ve been hammered this season. Alchan and I have rough ideas, but we need to shore up some immediate issues before we can go ahead with those plans. We probably won’t send anyone out until autumn—”
“That’s in a month,” Kenav said in frustration. “We need to hit them back now.”
“And get more people killed?” Alchan asked. “Don’t be like that, Kenav. We can’t rush into anything without the proper intel. Tomorrow, Luykas is going to reach out to my spies in the Empire. Tomorrow, I’m going to tell everyone here what I’m considering as major changes to our strategy against the Empire. The only good thing is Shadra needs prep time if she wants to march on us, and it’s already too late in the year for her to make considerable headway on that.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” Kenav relented, bowing his head.
“Can someone find Dave and Learen?” Alchan asked, looking around the room. “I need to talk to them about the supply chain. We’re a thousand warriors down, so we need to make some changes to the numbers. If we can afford to leave more food in Kerit for their winter, I’m sure those in the city would appreciate it.”
“They should be on their way, but I can see what’s keeping them,” Emerian offered, looking first at Alchan, then Mave. She nodded encouragingly. Emerian needed to make himself as useful as possible, especially with Alchan and other members of the Company. It would only help him fit in more with their group when it was time for him to be a warrior in his own right.
Alchan nodded his approval, and Emerian left the war room in a hurry.
“Alchan, I wanted to mention this on the way back but never had the chance,” Bryn began, taking advantage of the silence. “I want to go find Mat and Zayden.”
Alchan looked over at them, but passed over Bryn and landed on Mave. He tilted his head, a silent question.
“I’m okay with it,” she answered. “I need them home.”
“I’ll allow it. You can leave whenever you’re ready,” Alchan said softly. “But you have two weeks, Bryn. If you can’t find them in two weeks, you turn around and come straight back. I know it’ll be hard, but you built the entire scouting system.”
“Aye, I did, but as Luykas said, it might be compromised now. I can have them sneak the intel to ya in the village while I’m away. Ya just won’t have me organizin’ it for ya.”
“Compromised intel?” a noble said with a gasp. “What does that mean for us?”
“It means we need to be more careful. We’re not slowing down. Don’t think that, but we have to tread carefully with the types of missions we send out,” Luykas explained. “Now, Alchan, I know you probably still need me, but I can’t function if I don’t get some sleep soon.”
“Go,” Alchan ordered. “Mave, Bryn…you, too. Rain, check-in with Lady Lilliana, then go to sleep. Once I get these people working to help our returned warriors, I’ll follow you.”
They broke up, all heading their own directions. Bryn took Mave’s hand and brought it up to his lips.
“I’m leavin’ tomorrow at dawn,” he told her. “I’ll bring ‘em home.”
“I know,” she whispered.
They were too tired to eat a real meal. Emerian checked in, telling them he’d made sure Trevan and Dave got to the war room.
“Do you need anything?” Emerian asked as she slumped in her favorite chair.
“For you to slow down for a minute,” she said, sighing. “We have a spare bedroom. Go sleep. That way Trevan and Dave don’t accidentally wake you when they get home for the night. Actually, sit down and have a bite to eat first. You can’t run yourself into the ground. A warrior’s body needs to be taken care of.”
“Oh…um…okay.” Emerian sat down at their table. Mave glanced between him and Luykas, taking in their similarities and differences. She couldn’t help but compare the two, both gorgeous. Her tired mind liked having him there at her table, where she could keep an eye on him. He’s growing more every day. Still a bit awkward and green but growing.
She watched his eyes droop closed as he ate. A slight sway at one point told her he had been working through his exhaustion, and it had caught up to him.
“Good night,” she told him as she stood. “All of you make sure you get some sleep.”
The males grunted.
She made her way into her room alone. Stripping down, she sighed. Her home had been so empty recently. Mat and Zayden were gone, and she had no idea why they were late getting back home. Bryn was about to leave. Luykas was going to be so busy.
My brother lost an arm. He nearly died.
From here, the war was only going to get harder. That was the one thing no one really wanted to say all day. They covered it by making it sound like a necessary change of plans, but the fact of the matter was simple—the war was going to get harder. Their best strategy that used the might of the Andinna was easily seen through by Shadra. Now, they had to use their tricks, not knowing if those would be effective enough.
Mave felt a rush of despair at their situation and stopped it, retreating to a place that always protected her from her more destructive feelings. She couldn’t get overloaded by feelings. She needed to rest and be ready for the next day. She had to be strong. So, with firm walls around her heart, she laid down, focused only on what needed to happen next.
Survival. Victory.
It was as if she was in the pits again, going to sleep in that empty room.
She closed her eyes and was asleep in only a handful of heartbeats.
23
Luykas
Luykas cooked breakfast. Even as exhausted as he had been the night before, he still couldn’t bring himself to get even a little extra sleep. He was awake at dawn as he always was, driven by the stress of their lives and the need to keep moving forward in the hope they would one day be done with the seemingly endless conflict with the Elvasi.
I wish I had the confidence of my brother…or Mave.
He finished making breakfast for everyone, setting it on the table with covers to keep everything warm. He knew he would be gone before they woke up.
Bryn will come by and say goodbye. At least, he better.
He made himself a plate and ate quickly, then headed out. He wasn’t ready, per se, to start his day, but he didn’t have a choice. He could only keep going and hope every day they had the right intel to make the right decision. He could hope more good news or even no news would come.
Seanev’s defeat is crushing. Alchan is going to be rattled for weeks, even if he doesn’t show it. I need to keep an eye on him. We’ve never lost like that, not when we were in charge.
They had been there in the final moments of the war, but they hadn’t been the decision-makers all those years ago.
The first place Luykas went was to Leshaun’s home, unsurprised to find the old male awake and eating his breakfast.
“Good morning, Luykas,” Leshaun greeted with a tired smile. “I’ve heard what happened. I’ve already checked our books. There’s no new intel since the night before last. Nothing since Seanev’s return.”
“I figured but hoped,” Luykas said softly, sitting down at the table. “Do you think we missed anything?”
“I think our spies are locals, and we’ve always used them for very specific things. This might be out of their depth. The
y’re helping free Andinna and move them north, but it’s not their job to know everything about Shadra’s war plan.” The old male put his fork down and sighed. “There’s only one who can get ahold of that information, and she’s been slow to do so.”
“Kian pointed that out to me as well, but she’s had a lot going on. She’s fed us what she can, but she hasn’t known much in months. Shadra left her in Elliar to practice being a ruler, while Shadra goes to war.”
“She’s been ill. You’ve told me, but you never told me what made her ill,” Leshaun pointed out. “Could someone have tried to poison her? Maybe she’s wary of getting too close to potential political enemies. If she dies, Shadra must name an heir who isn’t one of her own children. She’d have to pick a favorite lord or general, and that will breed infighting and instability, which could be both good and bad for us.”
“She did it to herself,” Luykas answered with a wry snort. “We talked once before it happened. She had been looking for a spell that would kill someone in a way that looks natural.”
“Sorcery,” Leshaun mumbled, shaking his head.
“Sorcery that relied on blood,” Luykas corrected. “Almost our blood magic, but not. I gave her a few helpful tips about how blood magic works. I know you disagree. I told her the spell was bad news. It was how she ended up killing Lord Fenoth and taking his position. She inherited everything when he died. He had no other children.”
“The backlash of using blood magic of any type to kill someone must have been immense.” Leshaun shook his head, disagreeing with the very idea. “No wonder you never told me.”
“What happened to Seanev changes everything. You’ve been wondering, and now isn’t the time for me to keep my sister’s secrets.” Luykas could only shrug. “I’m going to try to talk to her tonight. She can’t project to us because of the mountains, the Andinna blood freely given to the soil here. Too much power.”
“Their sorcerers can use their magic on our lands,” Leshaun reminded him.
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